


Got Your Back||Modern second generation Hamilton/Hamilkids

by Blazing_Fire01



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alex is a lawyer, Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Drama, F/F, F/M, Fist Fights, Fluff, Friend groups, Getting the job done, Hamilkids, Herc is a tailor and a volunteer at habitat for humanity, High School, John is an EMT, Laf is a police officer, M/M, Mutual Pining, One-Sided Attraction, Pining, barista, but he paints as a past time, car crash, dear lord so much pining, everyone loves frances, help these kids, okay a lot of gay, some gay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-08
Updated: 2017-07-16
Packaged: 2018-11-10 21:28:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11135040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blazing_Fire01/pseuds/Blazing_Fire01
Summary: “High school is a pretty shitty place,” Theo mentioned. “But luckily,” she wrapped an arm around Frances’ shoulders. “You got us to help you out.”Life as a teenager can be shit. But luckily, these second generation revolutionaries can handle it.--Ages (are messed up because who cares about being historically accurate, right?):Frances-Eleanor Laurens: Seventeen years old (senior)Georges de Lafayette: Eighteen years old (senior)Anastasie de Lafayette: Eighteen years old (college freshman)Will Mulligan: Seventeen years old (senior)Philip Hamilton: Nineteen years old (college freshman)Angie Hamilton: Eighteen years old (senior)AJ Hamilton: Sixteen years old (junior)Susan Reynolds: Seventeen years old (junior)Lucy Jefferson: Seventeen years old (senior)Theo Burr Jr: Nineteen years old (college freshman)George Eaker: Nineteen years old (college freshman)Anne and Ludwell Lee: Eighteen years old (seniors)





	1. Welcome to Rev High

“So, yeah, there’s the cafeteria, but I don’t recommend eating anything in there. It gets pretty gross. There’s the cafe down the street that can get you lunch pretty fast, especially if you call before school so they can have it ready,” Georges walked beside the shorter girl. Where had Frances said she was from? South Carolina? Wow.   
Dad had mentioned knowing her father, in fact he seemed pretty excited when Georges mentioned having to show her around. Frances was coming off as pretty mellow, completely off from anyone who might of been friends with Dad at some point. 

Frances looked to Georges curiously, peering into the cafeteria. “Is the food really that bad?” 

Georges couldn’t help but chuckle at the naivety of the other. What kind of school cafeteria did have good food? He nodded with a small smirk. “It’s pretty bad,” he nodded. “A couple of my friends actually go to the diner practically every day, how about today you come with us? You can get acquainted with more people besides just me.” 

The girl seemed somewhat taken back at the request, as if she wasn’t expecting the kindness from the other. Slowly, she nodded, giving a sweet smile. “That sounds great!”  
\--

Was it kind of difficult moving her halfway through senior year? Kind of, yeah. But after what went down with John’s family, he had no choice, especially to keep his daughter safe. Frances had been bummed, sure, and John couldn’t necessarily explain why he was uprooting her from Charleston and bringing her to New York City. But this was going to be good for both of them. John could show her everything he did during college. She could become acquainted with his friends’ children.   
This was going to be good.   
John made his way down the street, carefully dodging the other people on the street. The crisp, mid October air burned his nose and cheeks as he walked made his way to the small coffee shop before checking his phone and pulling up the conversation he had going in the group chat with him, Alex, Herc, and Laf. 

[Message to: The Revs]

 

Jacky: I’m here. Are you guys coming?

John was about to put his phone back before he heard the bell on the door behind him. 

“I think it’s safe to say that yes, we are, mon amie!” The familiar French accent brought a grin to John’s face as he turned and saw his three old friends smiling to him. John grinned brighter, hugging Hercules and Marquis tightly then looking to Alex awkwardly. Jesus, when was the last time he had seen him? Seventeen years…? Before he had found out that Martha had Frances and was forced to move back to South Carolina. Alex had his hair down, he was wearing a dark green sweater with a white button up underneath. Last John had heard he was a lawyer. He always knew Alex was smart enough to get into something like that. 

John cleared his throat awkwardly. “I..uh, heard...about your divorce. I’m sorry--” 

Alex blinked and shrugged. “Divorces happen. I’m just happy it was a clean one. The kids are old enough to decide on who they want to stay with...all of them besides Johnny and James decided to stay with Eliza, but the others will visit sometimes. Especially Philip, but he’s moved out anyways. It’s better this way,” he offered a half smile before hugging John carefully. Taken back, he hugged him back awkwardly. 

“Enough about that! Laurens, tell me, how’s life been?” Hercules slapped him on the shoulder in an offhand manner. 

John stumbled slightly and looked to him. “Oh, well, pretty good, I’d say. Some issues I don’t want to get into, but I can’t complain,” when all three of his friends gave him a worried look, he only chuckled. “C’mon, I’ll buy you all a coffee!” 

\--

“So, you just let your Dad uproot you halfway through senior year?” One of the girls, Frances believed her name was Angelica, Angie. She was pretty, then again all of Georges friends were extremely attractive. Frances immediately felt out of place. 

“I didn’t like the idea of it, but I knew he had to have his reasons,” Frances frowned, using her spoon to stir her cup of hot tea that she had ordered. The somewhat gloomy weather could always be fixed with a nice hot drink.   
The diner was a rather cute place. It had a fifties feel to it with checkerboard floors and the waitresses wearing a high collared mint colored dress as a uniforms. The menu consisted of many things, burgers, sandwiches, salads, wraps. Frances had ordered what Georges and Angie’s brother, Philip, had recommended, a club sandwich with homemade potato chips. It was really good, granted Frances couldn’t finish it, filling up after eating half.   
Georges’ friends seemed kind enough.   
There was Philip, Angie, and AJ Hamilton. All which shared the resemblance of curly dark hair, and tan skin. Philip was a college freshman, Angie was in Frances and Georges grade, AJ was a junior. He didn’t talk much.   
There was also Theodosia Burr, a college senior and close friend of Philip. She was tall, almost as tall as Georges, with dark skin and an afro that she held out of her face with a headband.   
Last, there was Anastasie, Georges older sister, who looked so much like him Frances had asked if they were twins. She had gotten a laugh and a pat on the head in response. Neither of them answered her question. 

“So, petit, looks like we need to give you a run down,” Georges reached across the booth, picking up one of Frances’ chips and examining it before popping it in his mouth. 

Frances dropped her spoon, frowning. “The wh-”

“High school is a pretty shitty place,” Theo mentioned. “But luckily,” she wrapped an arm around Frances’ shoulders. “You got us to help you out.” 

“It doesn’t seem that bad so far,” Frances frowned slightly. Little did her new friends know she had been homeschooled most of her life, the past three years, she hadn’t even been in school due to...family reasons. Somehow the academy seemed to overlook that.

The others gave her sympathetic looks as if to say ‘oh honey’. 

AJ cleared his throat, looking to Frances as he took a long sip from his lemonade. “You don’t know the half of it,” he smiled thinly. 

“There’s a list of people you need to avoid at all costs,” Anastasie took another chip from Frances’ plate, who blinked and pushed the plate towards the center of the table, so everyone else could eat them. 

“Lucy Jefferson,” Georges nodded.

Philip looked up from picking through the rest of Frances’ club sandwich, pulling off the tomatoes and lettuce. “George Eacker--”

“Susan Reynolds,” AJ and Angie replied, almost simultaneously. 

Theo drummed her fingers on Frances’ shoulder. “William Mulligan, too.” 

“And the Lee twins. Believe me, they’ll want their fair share of you. After what your fathers went through--” AJ shrugged.

As easily as they came up with the list on the spot, Frances had the feeling that they had repeated it more than once. “Wait, our fathers?” 

Philip immediately nudged his brother as if to say ‘nice going, hot shot’. “That’s not important right now,” he shook his head, offering Georges a piece of the lettuce he had disregarded. Georges took it, confused. 

“The point is, just avoid them,” Angie shrugged. “Being near them isn’t going to be good for you. Pure trouble,” 

“Speak of the devils--” Theo gestured towards outside, Georges scoffed as he glanced through the window. 

Frowning, Frances did the same. It obviously wasn’t all of them that were mentioned, but maybe a good chunk. She was easily able to decipher who was who. There were the two who were obviously related, the Lee twins. A boy and a girl. The boy was a lot taller than his sister. Both shared the complexion of pale skin and filipino features, dark hair, the sisters to her shoulders, the boys in an undercut. Attractive. The other two were a boy and a girl as well, though Frances couldn’t tell if the boy was Will Mulligan or George Eaker and the girl as Lucy or Susan.   
Both boys were wearing varsity jackets, the girl that Frances couldn’t identify was in a cheerleader uniform. She hadn’t even seen a field anywhere around the school.   
As the four made their way into the diner, Frances immediately looked down so they wouldn’t catch her staring. The others did the same.   
For some reason, even though it was obvious the two groups of friends couldn’t even stand each other, the second group immediately walked over to the others’ booth with a smirk. The girl in the cheerleader uniform smiled at the seven. Frances felt Theo drop her arm from around her shoulders and leaned back in her seat, folding her arms. 

 

“Jefferson,” her voice was cold. Frances looked over in somewhat shock.

“Burr, Hamilton’s,” Jefferson--er, Lucy, glanced to Anastasie and Georges. “Lafayette’s,” her attention immediately was drawn to Frances, seeing how she was seated between Georges and Theo. She suddenly felt vulnerable. “You must be that new girl. Lucy Jefferson,” she reached across the table, hand extended. “Student council president, cheerleader captain, I could go on but I don’t want to brag~! Sometimes I won’t even realize I’m doing it!” She laughed. It reminded Frances of a pig. 

Reluctantly, she reached out and shook her hand. “I think you’re doing it,” she smiled sweetly, vaguely aware of Georges attempting to not choke on his piece of lettuce. 

Lucy withdrew her hand with a tight smile. “Aren’t you the sweetest?” Sarcasm oozed from her voice. “Well, if you ever want to climb the social ladder away from these losers, there’s always a spot on the team!”

“What team? Oh, you mean the bitch squad? Frankie wouldn’t fit in there, despite the red hair, she has more of a soul than you do!” Angie said enthusiastically. 

Frances bit her lip, glancing to the other. The last thing she needed right now was an enemy. Carefully, she climbed over Theodosia so she could stand face to face with Lucy. The twins and the other boy all took a small step back, as if not knowing what was about to go down. “I greatly appreciate the offer. But cheerleading isn’t my cup of tea. I’m more of a debate club kind of gal, y’know?” She smiled. 

Lucy raised a brow. “Whatever, hand me your phone.”

“What?”

“I’m gonna put my number in, silly! God, what else would I do?” She held her hand out. 

Frances looked to Georges who shrugged slightly, handing her her phone off the table. She unlocked it and pulled up the new contact form, passing it to Lucy carefully. Typing it in, she passed it back to Frances, who gave a small frown, looking it over and setting it back on the table. 

“Hmm,” Lucy smiled before walking off, followed by the twins.   
“Why are you still here, Mulligan?” Theo looked over from blowing bubbles into her soda. “Your little master just left.”

Will glared slightly before looking to Frances apologetically. Frances looked him over. He was sturdy, dark skin, tightly coiled and short cropped hair. His build almost reminded Frances of a dorito. He wasn’t very tall, standing at maybe 5’11 at the most, that is if he would stand up straight, which was still towering over Frances. He seemed kind of uncomfortable, and awkward.   
“I wanted to apologize-- for her-” 

“You don’t need to apologize--” Frances was confused. She was aware of the looks she was receiving from her friends. She didn’t understand apparently. 

William blushed, looking down before glancing back up and extending a hand. “Will Mulligan--” He smiled slightly. 

She blinked and shook his hand, a lot less reluctantly then she had shaking Lucy’s. “Frances Laurens!” 

“Will!” Lucy called from their booth, trying to wave him over. Will sighed and looked to Frances apologetically before walking over to his friends. 

High school had just gotten a lot more interesting.


	2. Getting situated

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Filler Chapter

“There you are, was afraid you got lost on the way home,” John called when he heard the front door open.  
He stood from his small studio to the side of the living room and went through across the room to the front door, somewhat confused when he seen Frances standing there with who he thought at first was Lafayette, but then realized that this boy was skinnier, and he wore his hair lower, no facial hair.  
“Hi, Daddy--” Frances hugged John tightly. John gave a small smile, wrapping his arms around her and ruffling her curls before letting go.

“Glad you’re home. Are you going to introduce me to your...friend?” John raised a brow. This wasn't a normal feeling to him apparently, Frances bringing a friend, a guy friend, home.  
Frances blinked as having forgot her friend was standing there. “Oh, right… This is--”

“Georges de Lafayette. Frances’ mentor. We couldn't fit in all the stuff I need to go over with her about,” he shrugged slightly. 

John blinked. This was Laf’s son? He should of put two and two together. Especially hearing the french accent. “Marquis is your dad? I’m actually a close friend of his,” he smiled. “Make yourself at home. There’s snack food in the kitchen.”  
He gave the two a smile as they nodded in thanks and made their way to the kitchen, probably followed by going upstairs to Frances’ room.  
John walked back to his studio, grabbing his phone off his desk and unlocking it, sending Laf a text to tell him about his daughter's friend. It was quite humorous how it had happened. As always, Laf answered almost immediately. John found himself beginning to wonder if he ever actually worked at his job as a police officer. 

[Text to: Laf]

Your son is over here, apparently a friend of Frances’

John didn’t even set his phone down before it dinged.

[Text from: Laf]

I know, mon amie! This is good!

How would he have known? Shrugging, John set his phone down and picked up his paintbrush, going back to stroking it across the canvas.

\--

“So, where’s your mom?” Georges didn’t realize how rude the question must of sounded until he blurted it out when the two were standing in the kitchen. He was tracing his fingernail through his orange peel, pulling it back. Frances didn’t even seemed by the question, maybe because she was busy putting the kettle on the stove. 

Frances glanced to the other, turning the knob to turn on the burner before going over to Georges, sitting beside him, happily taking the orange slice he offered to her. “I...don’t have one,” she shrugged. 

“You were adopted?” Georges never heard of an agency allowing a single parent to adopt. But it seemed to be the only way by the sound of it. But then he remembered the resemblance she held to her father. The southern accents. The same curly hair, hazel eyes, abundance to freckles, even all the way down to their noses. The only thing that seemed to differ between them was that Frances was shorter, and had ginger hair. 

Frances shook her head, biting the orange slice and chewing it, swallowing and looking to him. “No, not really,” she shrugged. 

“Then….?”

Frances raised a brow. “Do you always press like this for answers? Martha had a one night stand with my dad when he had been in the service...he didn’t even know she had been pregnant until she had me. Since he couldn’t take care of me, I was sent to my aunts...until she couldn’t afford to take care of me anymore when I was about eleven…” Her expression got kind of lost as she glanced at the orange slice in her hands. “I was sent to my uncle Henry’s….needless to say, he wasn’t a good guy…abusive. By that time Dad was out of the army, and was working on trying to get custody. But he couldn’t seem to. He had a bad past, and considering I was the product of a one night stand it was hard. It took about three years and Henry being reported to the child services for Dad to get custody. So yeah. No mom.” 

Georges blinked, going silent, feeling sorry for asking, it was obviously something that wasn’t easy enough for her to talk about. He cleared his throat. “Oh, sorry...I shouldn’t of--”

“It’s fine, you were gonna find out eventually, right?” Frances smiled reassuringly. Georges returned the smile. “So tell me, what kind of tea do you want?” 

\--

“Can you believe them?” Lucy scoffed. “The girl obviously doesn’t know the value of getting in the right social group,” she shook her pom-poms in frustration. 

Anne Lee looked to her friend, disgusted as they walked to the locker room. Anne wasn’t on the team. She did tennis, but that wasn’t something the academy offered, so she was in band. She played clarinet. “Why do you even want to be friends with her? What does she have to offer besides being the daughter of some bastard?” 

“You really don’t understand this, do you? It’s not what she has to offer, Anne. We’re just going to be good people here and expose her current friends for bad things they have done. We don’t want her getting hurt,” Lucy smiled slightly as they walked into the locker room, Anne helped her unzip her suit carefully. 

“But...they haven’t done anything,” Anne frowned, turning away as Lucy changed into her casual clothes, the ones she didn’t wear around school. 

“Frances doesn’t know that,” Lucy changed quickly, pulling on skinny jeans, a shirt, and a cardigan over it. She went over to the mirror, fluffing her hair. “Now tell me, how convincing could that brother of yours get?” 

\--

“You mentioned to Lucy about debate club?” Georges asked. Him and Frances were spread across her bed, looking over the extra curricular paper, the list was so long that the paper was double columned and sided. They had been highlighting the ones that Frances found interesting in one color, and the one that Georges was in in another. 

Frances drummed the end of the end of the highlighter against the clipboard the paper was on. “Yeah….the idea of that sort of thing always appealed to me. I mean, I’ve wanted to be a lawyer for a while now, and those things are kind of related, right?” 

Georges smiled slightly, taking Frances’ highlighter and running it over the fifth line down on the page over the words ‘debate club’, before doing the same with his own highlighter. The mix of colors from blue and green made a teal color. “I guess we’ll find out!” 

\--

Philip opened the door to Alex’s small condo. “Dad?” He called. It had been a while since he visited, about a week and a half. He would text him, sure, but Alex being Alex, he would send paragraphs in response to Philip asking if he had picked up his mail. It would get irritating. It was irritating texting any old person. His mom was the exact opposite, shortening every single word. “Hey, Pops?” Philip let himself in, figuring Alex was too involved in whatever he was working on.

“In here!” Alex called from his study, smiling at the familiar sound of his eldest child’s voice. He shut his laptop carefully and took off his reading glasses, setting them beside the laptop. Usually he wouldn’t stop like that. But Philip was a special case. His attendance was always a treat of some kind. Like Christmas. If Christmas came twice a month.  
God, this case was going to be the death of him. He was going grey. At age 39 it was a normal thing, but grey wasn’t good color on him. He wondered if males dyed their greys like women would.  
Alex walked from his study into the living room, where Philip was standing awkwardly after hanging up his backpack. He turned and saw his dad, flashing him a bright, cheeky smile. Alex smiled back, giving him a small hug. “Let me put a pot of coffee on, then we can talk,” he smiled. 

A few minutes later the two sat at the dinner table, sipping their coffee. Philip always took his with creamer. And, even though Alex only drank his black and couldn’t stand the taste of sweetened coffee, he always kept a bottle of creamer in the door of the fridge, and never let it go bad. Philip enjoyed that his father would do that for him, it reminded him that he was always welcome there. 

Philip set his mug down and smiled. “So, I talked to Johnny the other day. He seems to be fitting into middle school just fine,” he smiled. “James never responds to my messages. But hey, fourteen is a rough age.” 

Alex gave a small chuckle, recalling the talk he had to have with James the other night about his attitude lately. “Yeah, Johnny got into a creative writing class at the library. That’s where he’s at now,” he smiled “‘wants to be just like his Pops.”

Philip took a drink from his coffee as Alex spoke. He had to stop himself from spewing it everywhere when he was about to laugh. “Is that supposed to be a good thing?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone is enjoying the story! Sorry, not much happens in this chapter but the next chapter will have something big!


	3. Everybody talks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First debate club meeting and a sleepover. Just...typical highschool things!

“Debate club? You’ve never found interest in that before,” Laf frowned, seeing Georges show him the permission sheet. Actually, Georges didn’t show it to him. He was going to forge a signature to avoid questions. “Where did this come from?” 

Georges blinked and shrugged sheepishly. “The office?” 

“No, where did this come from?”

“Oh, uh, I dunno. Frances-Eleanor wanted to join debate club, and as her mentor I couldn’t very well let her do it alone,” he shrugged. 

“Isn’t Alexander Jr in debate?”

“Yeah, I think…” 

“And you introduced him to Frances-Eleanor?”

“Yeah, but--”

Laf smirked slightly, raising a sly brow. “Son~” 

Georges stared at his father, frowning. “Would you just sign the sheet?”

\--

“So...you’re really liking your new school?” John smiled to his daughter, seated beside her as she went through his brushes, the painting she had been working on for a month in front of her. Though they shared a lot appearance wise, Frances and him didn’t share much in interests, except when it would come to art. He had been teaching her to paint since he got custody of her. She had already known a lot about drawing, claiming that John’s brother-in-law taught her a bit.   
Frances pulled out a thin brush, examining it and offering the brush can to him. John declined with a small smile, leaning against his desk as he waited for her to answer. “Huh? Oh...yeah, it’s okay. It was only my first day to be fair….”

John raised a brow. “Is something up, hon?” 

“There were these kids-- Twins. A friend said that you had a run in with their dad….” Frances chewed the inside of her cheeks. 

“What was their last name?” 

“I dunno...Lee, maybe?” Frances dipped her brush into the light blue she had mixed on the pallet. 

John felt his smile fall as he stared at Frances worriedly. “Stay away from them. I don’t want to hear that you’re anywhere near them. Their dad’s no good so I highly doubt that they’re any different, okay?”  
Frances looked up in shock at her dad’s sudden change of tone, blinking slowly as she gave a small nod. Seeing he shocked her, John gave a small sigh. “Sorry, hon. I just don’t want you getting involved in what I did with Charles. It almost got me killed. I’ll tell you what happened someday, just not today,” he went over and wrapped his arms around her. Frances put the paintbrush away before hugging him back. 

What was her dad hiding?

\--

“So, uh, are you sure this is the right room?” Frances looked to Georges with a frown. There wasn’t many people in the small conference room. There was AJ, sitting at the head of the table, arms folded. The only other people in there was a girl about a year younger than Frances and Georges, with copper skin and cinnamon curls. She seemed shy, sitting away from everyone. At the other side of the table, near Frances and Georges, with her dirty blonde hair cut into a pixie style. She had a light complexion of freckles and dark brown eyes. She sent a small smile over to Frances as she asked this. A few seats down from AJ was the Lee kid from yesterday in all his varsity jacket glory. What was his name? Leroy? Lovell? No, Ludwell, wasn’t it?   
Frances looked around with a frown. There wasn’t much of a club….she wondered how they even properly competed with other teams with only three people. Especially with one that couldn’t stand the other three, assuming from Frances’ warnings the day before. 

“Are you sure you don’t want to join glee? It’s not nearly as bad as the show--” Georges whispered to her. Frances smirked slightly and smacked his arm. 

“Good to see our other two new members joined us,” AJ said, sounding bored, but looked grateful that his friends had arrived. 

“What…? Who’s the other…?” Georges glanced around, pausing when he saw Ludwell and sighing. “Ew…” 

Frances rolled her eyes and sent Ludwell an apologetic smile, pulling Ludwell over to sit beside AJ. What her Dad had told her the night before vaguely rang in the back of her mind. The smile faded slightly and sat beside Georges. “Don’t look at him, he can sense hatred,” Georges tsked.

His friends’ eyes widened. “Georges, there is nobody else talking. He just heard what you just said,” AJ stared at him. Frances heard Susan give a small giggle from the other end of the table. Georges eyes widened, as he stared at his hands with a soft ‘shit…’

\--

Hercules would be the first to admit, he wasn’t always the best dad. He was never around much, busy in his shop, or volunteering. He would try to see eye to eye with Will, but they had such same interests that they couldn’t seem to click. You wouldn’t expect identical puzzle pieces to fit together, would you?   
But four years ago, when William had come home with a football jersey in his backpack and a proud grin on his face, Hercules had swelled with pride. Granted, Herc had played QB back in highschool, and Will was playing wide receiver, but it was still cool. They had spent almost every day after Will got home from practice and Herc from work out in the backyard, tossing the ball back and forth, Hercules giving pointers.   
That was the last time that the two had spent time together.   
Over the next course of the year, Ann Mulligan would pass in a car accident that would dislocate Herc’s shoulder and break his arm, leading him to not be able to work in at the mechanic shop. That would depress him, he would start drinking and disregard his son who spent most of the time in his room. Within a month of the funeral there would be a suicide attempt from William, and Herc would find him. Another week and Hercules would lose his job.   
Over the next two months, while doing odd jobs, Hercules would refind his passion for sewing that he had as a teen on the side. He would open a small shop in Manhattan, closer to his high school and his college friends, Alexander and Lafayette. William would be happy to switch schools, even happier to move from the house to a small apartment above a coffee shop, away from the memories that the old house held.   
At first Will would be good friends with Georges, Angie, and the others, but then football would roll around and he would find others to hang out with. He would get caught up in the wrong crowds. Hercules would no longer bring him to the little get togethers, or the barbeques that his friends and their children held, knowing that it would end badly in one way or another.   
Life was always bound to be full of ups and downs, sometimes those ups and downs were just more steep than others. What was important when climbing those steeps was having the right equipment.  
Will was afraid that he would never find that equipment, that is, until the day he walked in the diner and caught view of the red headed Laurens girl. 

\--

[Text from: Angie]

Sleepover Friday night. Just the girls. You in? ;p

Angie? When had she even gotten Frances’ number? She glanced at her phone and picked it up, reading the message and giving a small frown. She had never honestly been to a sleepover before. Were they anything like the movies? If so, what would Daddy say about it? She hesitated on pressing send, going down the steps and pausing halfway, just so she could be seen at the banister through to the living room. 

“Dad? Friday night Angie, Anastasie, and Theo are throwing a sleepover. Could I go?” Frances asked, a death grip on the wooden banister. 

John glanced from the TV and looked over to her. “I start work on Friday, so you’ll have to find a ride there,” he nodded slightly.

Frances grinned brightly. “I will! Thank you!” She went to run back up the stairs before turning and finishing going down the stairs. She went and hugged John tightly before turning back around and going back to her room, making John chuckle. 

“Wait,” he called, making her pause. “You wouldn’t think that one of your…scenes will happen do you?”

Frances paused, her hand tightening around the banister of the stairs. She glanced over her shoulders. “I’m sure it won’t. People never sleep at sleep overs anyways, right?” 

\--

“You know, Frankie!” Angie bit her lip as she struggled to untangle Frances’ massive curls. “Winter formal is coming up in a few weeks~”   
The four girls were sitting in Theo’s homes second living room. Man, the Burr’s had a huge house. House wasn’t the right word. It was more of a manor. It reminded Angie of the layout of her grandpa’s. Two living rooms, five guest rooms, three bathrooms. It was awesome.   
“Why won’t your hair untangle? Even Theo’s isn’t this hard to braid!” She tskd on the side of her earlier comment. 

“Ow-- What’s the-- ow! Winter formal?” Frances winced as Anastasie looked around and handed Angie a brush, which she decided to use. Frances’ hair was insanely curly, she could never brush it, much less style it. John and her didn’t even keep anything like that in the house, only hair ties or scrunchies to tie their hair back in pony tails if needed. 

Theo laughed slightly at her comment. “Your old school really must’ve been exclusive. Winter formal is like prom, but in winter. I guess. Is that how I should explain it?” She looked to Anastasie who laughed slightly. 

“Most schools will have a formal dance of some kind every season. In fall, it’s homecoming. In winter it’s, duh, the winter formal. In spring, well, more February, is Sadie Hawkins. And in may is prom!” Anastasie took the brush from Angie, shooing her away as she smoothed Frances’ hair. “I’m sure by next week you’ll have plenty of invitations~ Just make sure you don’t accept the wrong one,” she shrugged.

Frances blinked and looked to Angie. “Who are you going with?” She asked, tilting her head. 

Angelica looked to her with a small smile. “There’s this really cute girl in my algebra two class,” she blushed. Frances slowly blinked, processing that she had said ‘girl’. It wasn’t that she was against it, she had met her Dad. 

“What’s her name?” Frances smiled brightly. 

“Abigail Adams… She’s in debate club with you, actually, Father wouldn’t like her. She’s a Adams, afterall,” Angie folded her arms with a small huff. 

“Your dad has a lot of people who don’t like him,” Frances pointed out. Theo and Anastasie laughed slightly. 

“Alexander Hamilton? Beef with someone?” Theo gasped. “Unheard of!” She sent a glance to Anastasie who snorted with laughter. 

“I heard Hamilton and beef, who’d he upset now?” 

The four girls jumped slightly and turned to see Aaron Burr, Theodosia’s Dad, walk in carrying a tray with four mugs of cocoa. He set it on the coffee table with a smile. 

“Hi, Dad. We were just discussing...uh,” Theo hesitated, giving a look to Angie, then Anastasie, then to Frances, who all shrugged. 

“Alright, I’ll take a hint. You girls have fun,” Aaron waved a hand, stretching and walking off. 

“Your Dad is pretty cold, Theo--” Frances looked to Theo, who looked back, obviously confused. 

“You mean chill? Cool?” She offered the synonyms. 

“Oh she’s like a little alien or something,” Angie teased, wrapping an arm around the ginger. “What do you girls say to a comedic movie?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one didn't have as much as I promised, but it's gonna get better. Next chapter is Thanksgiving! As always, comments are appreciated!


	4. Thanksgiving

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I really tried for a fluffy holiday chapter. I didn't try hard enough.   
> Happy angstgiving

Thanksgiving was always a big part of Alex’s life, well, since he had moved to America. It made him treasure the holiday more than most people would. This year, he wasn’t sure if it was better or worse. His first Thanksgiving without Eliza, and, well, some of the kids. Philip, Angie, and Johnny were more than happy to stay with Alex, but he agreed to have them back in time for pie. On the other hand, they were all gathering at John’s for dinner. This was gonna be his first time meeting Frances. He hoped she liked him, it would be kind of awkward if she didn’t. Laf and Herc with their kids were going to be there too, even William. This made Alex even more nervous. He wanted just a few minutes alone with John, may he’d get that…

With all the the texts the two had exchanged since the second Alex knew that John was moving back into town, you would think that they would of gotten together. But it was too awkward, in all honesty. 

It was, assumedly, Frances-Eleanor who answered the door. Her red curls pushed from her face with a headband, over her dress she had on an apron and oven mitts. She hesitated seeing Alex. She didn’t know him. It wasn’t until John came from around the corner, wearing similar oven mitts and an apron that read ‘kiss the cook’. Man would Alex happily oblige. 

“Oh! Frances, honey,” Alex wasn’t clear if he was calling him or his daughter that. “This is Alex Hamilton,” John avoided putting a hand on either of their shoulders with the oven mitts on.  
Frances blinked awkwardly, as if putting two and two together. She then quickly took off her oven mitts and offered a hand and a cheeky smile. Her smile resembled John’s in a way, the way their eyes would get squinty and they would raise their shoulders, Frances had a small tooth gap was the only difference. 

Alex blinked and hugged her, avoiding her extended hand. “Nice to meet you, Frances. I’ve heard a lot about you!” 

Frances was taken back by the hug and gently hugged him back before taking a few steps back, sending an apologetic look to John, then to Alex. “Nice to meet you too,” she had a southern drawl much like the one that John had picked back up. John blinked and glanced to Alex, struggling to remove his own oven mitts and hugging Alex.   
Holding him in his arms felt like coming home. 

“I think I’m burning the...uh, whatever,” Frances rushed back to the kitchen.

Alex looked John over. God. His curls were pulled into a low ponytail as usual. He wore a maroon sweater and dark jeans with flour caked on them. “The, uh, stuffing and potatoes are in my car. Should I…?”

John nodded before pausing. “Oh, uh, sorry… she gets like that. Up until about a year ago she would get uncomfortable with even me hugging her. It’s probably something to do to everything that Henry did to her…” John spat slightly, glancing down and seeing their hands still linked. 

“Has she opened up about anything else? Other than what she did in court,” Alex questioned. 

John shook his head slightly. “Uh, not really. But I’ve been putting some pieces together...at night she wakes up screaming from nightmares. She refuses to go to a psychiatrist, but at this point I’m beyond going on with her requests, her episodes are getting out of hand. I’m just worried, y’know?” John paused when he seen Laf walking up with Georges and Anastasie. He sighed. “We’ll talk later. Maybe you could stay a little while after?” 

Alex nodded, blushing. 

“Mon Amie! My friends! Happy day of thanks!” Laf said loudly. Georges and Anastasie greeted John and Alex before going to the kitchen to find Frances. Laf grinned at the two. “How are you two? Is Mulligan here yet?” 

“Philip and Angelica begrudgingly agreed to go pick him and Will up,” Alex nodded, crossing his arms. 

“Alex,” John raised a brow.

“Hmm?” 

“The potatoes and stuffing?”

“Oh!” Alex blinked and ran out, barely missing the other four coming up the sidewalk. 

Angie and Philip brought up a few dishes, full of whatever food Frances and John had listed for each person to bring. Herc had called Frances personally multiple times to beg and let him make the turkey. It took a lot of convincing, but her and John let him, in agreement that they would make the deserts. Laf turned and opened the door for them, ruffling both of their hair as they walked past. Johnny, Hercules, and Will came up behind them, Johnny talking their ears off while Will held the large turkey, Hercules carried a couple bowls with the cranberries, and baked squash.   
Laf still held the door open, nodding slightly in respect to Will as John showed him to the kitchen, grinning at Herc, then fist bumping Johnny who beamed.   
When Alex came back through the door, carrying two styrofoam containers, Laf paused him. “Have you spoken to him yet?” 

“Who? John? Nah, I didn’t get the chance. He asked me to stay here a little later tonight…”

“Hoh hoh hoh! Is anything going to happen?” Laf asked hopefully. Alex blinked and shook his head slightly.   
“No, I think those feelings he has for me are gone, Laf. I wish we could rekindle a college romance but...well, it’s hard to rekindle something with burned out embers.” 

Laf raised a brow. “You Americans,” he tsked. “I see the way he looks at you, Alexander. He looks at you like you’re the only one in the room, and that there are galaxies surrounding you. It makes me wonder sometimes as I look around at other couples, if they see each other the same way…”

“Whoa, that was--”

“DAD!” He heard Angie suddenly shout. 

 

Alex sighed, running into the kitchen, to see the seven kids, John, and Herc all staring at the potatoes, frowning. “What is it? What’s wrong?” 

“These aren’t mashed potatoes,” William looked over to Alex, frowning. Beside him, Frances looked over.

“They’re more like a…” She glanced to Will, as if asking for a good choice of words. “Potato smoothie…” 

“What? I checked them. Okay, maybe not. Let me see, they can’t be that bad!” Alex made his way over, Frances slid him the large container. Sure enough, it looked like you could slurp the potatoes through a straw.

“Are we not gonna have potatoes at dinner?” Johnny whined, pouting. 

Alex blinked, recalling how busy the restaurant he had ordered them from had been. There would be no going back and asking for a refund. “I could go pick up some from the store. The instant ones,” William offered, making everyone glance to him. 

Frances slowly blinked. “I’ll come with, so you can pick up the right kind!” She offered with a sweet smile. 

Georges looked between the two. “Neither of you have licenses, so I guess I’ll be coming with!” He tried to hide a glare. Both Will and Frances sent him a look as Alex shrugged and tossed him the keys.

“Hurry back,” John urged, shooing them out of the way. 

“Take the pies out in--” the rest of Frances’ instructions were muffled out by her being pushed through the front door, Georges pushing her, and Will closely following.

\--  
“Your grocery stores are...weird,” Frances commented, looking around. 

“Weird? It’s a Walmart, Fran,” Georges looked to her, as if to say ‘have you never been in a fucking Walmart either?’

“But it has clothes over there, and food over here, not to mention it just has a weird feel to it,” Frances made the awkward hand gestures. 

“Black Friday,” Will tried to explain, leaving Frances frowning. “It should be starting in a few hours, we should hurry,” without thinking, he grabbed her hand, pulling her along, ignoring Georges scowl. 

It didn’t take them long to grab the packages of potatoes, they grabbed five, considering they were feeding eleven people. “Better grab a couple gravy packets,” Frances looked to Georges, as if asking where they would be found.

“No need, I helped Dad make turkey gravy,” Will smiled subtle-y. Frances blinked and smiled, causing Georges to scoff. 

“Your pies are going to burn, Fran. Let’s go,” he grabbed her arm, pulling her along gently. Frances and Will both looked to him, a little confused. 

“He must be excited for dinner!” Frances tried to explain to William who shook his head with the smallest hint of a frown. 

\--

“Yeah, I’m putting the water in the microwave now, five minutes give or take, uh huh. Frances this isn’t the first time I’ve made instant potatoes!” John rolled his eyes as his daughter rambled on, looking around and passing his phone to Johnny, who was eye-ing the apple pie. “Talk to her for me, buddy.” 

Johnny blinked and grinned, running off and rambling to Frances. “GRANDPA GEORGE IS COMING OVER! WE’RE GONNA PLAY FOOTBALL AFTER DINNER! DO YOU LIKE TO PLAY FOOTBALL---” 

Alex walked in from the dining room, holding a glass pitcher, diving out of the way of the eleven year old. “Who’s he talking to? It sounds like Ellie when a telemarketer calls,” he chuckled, going to the freezer. He filled the pitcher with ice, unaware of John slowly walking over, peering over his shoulder.   
“Mmm, Alex, when was the last time we spent time together?” He asked quietly, John found even himself blushing as he wrapped his arms around Alex from behind. 

Alex slowly set the pitcher down. “F-Far too long….” 

\--

“There you guys are,” Philip opened the door with a frown. “Oh, it’s snowing. How long were you two out here?” He asked, ignoring William who was glaring as Georges draped his jacket over Frances’ shoulders, who was practically trembling. Everyone seemed to forget Frances grew up in South Carolina. She was freezing in anything under sixty degrees. 

“We have the potatoes,” William grumbled, upset that he hadn’t thought of handing Frances his jacket. 

Georges and Will slipped past Philip to the living room, where Hercules had turned on one of the numerous football games that would be played that day. Philip and Frances exchanged glances. “Not one for football?” She shivered, walking in as well, though slipping off Georges’ jacket as she stepped inside, hanging it up carefully. 

“Not my style. I’m more of a...not that kind of guy,” Philip smiled slightly. “There’s something about grown men tackling and beating the shit out of each other that doesn’t suit my tastes, y’know?” 

Frances laughed, the two making their way to the kitchen. Now, at first, Frances hadn’t noticed what was happening, she was busy reading the potato packaging when Philip grabbed her arm, eyes wide as he stared near the fridge.   
Giving a small frown, Frances looked up, eyes widening at the sight of her and Philip’s father’s pressed up against each other, lips against one another in a somewhat heated kiss. The two children stared in shock, unsure how to react, especially considering that neither Alex or John had yet to notice the two standing there.   
Finally, Frances came to her senses, clearing her throat with a glare. Alex and John pulled away, cheeks bright red as both gasped for air. Their eyes lingered over to Frances and Philip, who seemed to be in more shock than the other two. Frances seemed upset, unclear if it was more anger or sadness. Philip looked between the two, eyes wide. 

“Frankie--” John pushed away from Alex’s embrace, going to walk over, Frances took a large step back. 

“Do you smell something burning?” Alex scrunched his nose slightly, looking around. John slapped his arm as Philip mimicked the sniffing. 

“Is...is this why we had to move here?” Frances’ voice was barely above a whisper. Of course she had known that her father was gay, it was pretty obvious. But she was somewhat thrown in shock when she walked in to see...that, all of the sudden. Especially with someone no other than Alexander. 

Philip frowned, sniffing some more. “I smell it too. Did one of you guys--”

“Alex,” John sighed. “Would you and Philip go wait in the living room, please?” 

“John, you really aren’t smelling-- oh shi--” 

WOOSH!

Luckily Alex had the natural instinct to grab John and pull him away from the flames thrown out of the oven. Philip had gone to grab Frances and pull her back but couldn’t reach without going face first into the flames. The blaring of the fire alarms mixed with the shouting from the four was enough to bring everyone to the kitchen. Angie immediately pulled Johnny back and pushed him back into the living room. 

“GET EVERYONE OUT!” Angie couldn’t tell who said it, but by the position everyone was standing, she assumed it was Hercules. As she gripped Johnny’s hand, she was somewhat reluctant as William ushered her to the door, Georges and Anastasie bringing Philip. She heard screaming, and came to the blood curdling realization that it was probably Frances. The six burst through the front door, making it to the end of the driveway before staring back at the house, smoke and flames visible through the kitchen window. 

Georges made sure everyone was okay before about to go back in the house. Anastasie quickly grabbed his arm. “WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU GOING?” She demanded. At that point, with all the stress and fear they were under, nobody was taken back by her cursing. 

Angie glanced to Philip, who was trembling, tears pouring down his face, other than that, he seemed okay. Johnny was wailing, struggling against Will. Angie glanced around, sighing in relief at the sound of distant sirens, and took notice to the black pick-up pulling aside, Grandpa Washington practically falling out, eyes wide. 

“They’re still in there!” Georges pointed out, man was he observant. Anastasie shook her head.

“But you aren’t! Stay out here! There’s firemen coming!” 

George rushed over, looking around. “Angelica, get everyone in the pick-up,” seeing his granddaughter nod, he took off his jacket and passed it over to her before heading in towards the house. 

\--

It seemed like eternity for how long they waited for any sign of help, the smoke grew so thick that he couldn’t even see John ahead of him, who was screaming, trying to get to Frances. Flames grew and spread around the perimeter of the kitchen, spreading out into the dining and living room. The second they hit the wooden dining table, the whole room seemed to be engulfed. Alex let out a wheeze, choking when he heard the sound of heavy footsteps. His first instinct from being grabbed from behind was to scream, letting go of John to defend himself.   
Just as John tumbled forward, about to head to his daughter, he too was caught. At first thinking it was either Laf or Herc, he started thrashing wildly, screaming, before realizing it was a firefighter as soon as he was thrown over the other’s shoulder, brought through the remains of the front door, which looked like it had been kicked in. John started coughing, wheezing, heaving even. He let out a hoarse sob as he was set on a stretcher, trembling. He caught a faint view of Laf, Herc, and Alex, all wrapped in blankets and trembling. John looked around, grabbing the firefighter by the arm, shaking. 

“My daughter--- she’s still in there! P-Please---” A raw sob escaped. 

The firefighter removed his helmet, looking to John. He found the other kind of familiar, before recognizing the horrible undercut and handsome...squared jawline. “Lee….please,” John wheezed. “I know we have a bad past but she’s still in---”

“They’re looking for her. Do me a favor and just relax.” 

John stared at him, giving a shaky nod before attempting to relax. His face burned like hell, his eyes were dry and stuck to his eyelids every time he blinked, despite the tears he was shedding. His throat was raw and hurt, it felt like he had been swallowing razor blades. It seemed like hours, even though his common sense told him it was less than ten minutes before there were two more figures seen coming towards them. John wanted to sob with relief at the familiar scene of a mess of red curls that he recognized as his daughters. He went to stand and bolt to her, but Lee guided him to sit back down. 

“I-Is...is she--?!” John demanded. “Is she breathing?!” 

Alex immediately rushed over to John’s side, eyes wide. The second firefighter gently set Frances on a nearby stretcher, who immediately sat up, trying to push them all away. Her body trembled with ragged, uneven breaths. The side of her face and her arm was burned, along with most of her clothes, but not as badly as expected. One of the nearby EMTs placed an oxygen mask on her, which she didn’t refuse.   
John shoved both Alex and Lee out of the way, going over to her and kneeling down. “Frances--” The expression she gave in return was practically heart breaking. She wasn’t mad, or crying even. John was crying. John felt stupid now. She was in pure shock, she couldn’t make eye contact with him as she stared at the ground, shivering. Well, probably not shivering judging by the sweat pouring down her face, leaving tracks of clear skin through the soot and ash that had caked itself on her complexion. John carefully took her hand, silently asking, begging her, to tell him if she was okay.   
Frances didn’t even look up, only pulled her hand away and hugging herself, minding the burns. An EMT made her way over to Frances with bandages and whatnot. She brought blankets and helped her to her feet. “I’m gonna take her to get bandaged up,” she gestured towards the ambulance, bringing Frances with. 

Alex looked to John worriedly, giving a small sigh. “I think she’s in better condition then we all thought….”

“No,” John shook his head. “She’s not…”


	5. A warning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another filler. Let's do this. Kind of a fluff.

Frances and John moved in with Alexander for the time being, until they could find a different place to stay. Frances’ burns were finally starting to heal after after about a week. They prescribed her some ointment and kept bandages on the burns across her arm. John didn’t force her to go back to school right away, even though she had insisted on going back on Monday,

“Finals are in a week, Dad. I have a debate meet. I can’t afford to miss anything,” she had shook her head that Sunday night at Alex’s dinner table, her and Angie hunched over their homework. 

Neither Philip or Frances ever brought up what had happened on Thanksgiving between Alex and John. The two males had hoped and assumed that they had forgotten, or just loathed the idea of confrontation. 

“How you doing, mon petit?” Georges came up to Frances at her locker. It was Wednesday, so the story of the fire had already spread, all Frances had received were questions about the fire, she didn’t understand why it was such a big deal. They hadn’t found the cause yet, but it was safely assumed that it was the pies. 

“Well, could be better,” she said quietly, pulling out her English textbook and notebook. Georges wrapped an arm around her shoulders carefully, somewhat awkwardly. 

He had been sitting on the question he was about to ask for a while, and, sure, had thought about doing it in a more extravagant way. But Frances was kind of shy, and got flustered easily. He paused at his own locker, pausing Frances from walking anymore. He dug in his backpack and pulled out the folded piece of paper with the drawing of the rose he had done, passing it to her. He hadn’t had the time to swing by the florist that morning, and he had already spent his allowance on new reeds for his saxophone. He was sure that if he had mentioned it to his dad, Laf would of definitely agreed to help. He was such a hopeless romantic.

“Georges, the tardy--” 

“I-I know, I just….” Georges fiddled with his hands before looking to Frances, who watching him worriedly, as if concerned for his current well being. Georges squinted and took her hands quickly. “Winter formal is coming up. And I don’t think that you’ve been asked. And I haven’t asked...so, do you wanna...I dunno…” 

Frances tilted her head, catching on. She gave a small smile, squeezing Georges hands gently. “Georges? Do you want to ask me to go to winter formal with you?” She asked with a small laugh. She wasn’t sure what the guidelines were for girls asking guys to the formal, but she was more than grateful when Georges looked to her, eyes wide as he nods. Frances smiled and tilted herself up on her toes, kissing him on the cheek with a smile before rushing off to her english class without another word. 

\--

“So, El~ Is it okay if I call you that? I just figured, Eleanor? Frances-Eleanor? Hah, you aren’t responding but I’ll assume that you like it!” 

Frances glanced over her shoulder to see Lucy smiling at her, making her squint slightly. “Hello, Lucy. Can I help you….?” She asked, setting her pencil down and stretching her fingers. Her wrist kind of ached. 

Lucy took a seat on top of Frances’ desk, right on top of her notebook. Frances flinched as her pencil rolled on the ground and went to grab it. Lucy gave an almost scoff as the red head sat back up, tucking her pencil behind her ear. 

“Are you going to the diner today? For lunch?” Lucy twirled a piece of her hair, crossing her ankles. 

“It sounded like a better plan than risking food poisoning,” Frances frowned slightly. Was Lucy just trying to make smalltalk? 

“Hmm, no, how about you come to lunch with me?” Lucy stated this like it wasn’t a question. 

“But I have a grilled chicken wrap ordered--”

“There’s a different restaurant we can go to! Just a little further down the block. I just want to be sure you got a more...proper tour. One more on the inside.”

“But you mentioned we’ll be at a diner,” Frances cocked her head to the side. “How can we be more on the inside if we’re not even at school?”

Lucy’s expression seemed to fall. “I’ll meet you at your locker after class.”

\--

Alexander Junior had always been told he was a lot like his dad. Working non-stop. Never sleeping. Though he had inherited Eliza’s softer, shyer personality, fuller cheeks, darker hair, and height, he had obviously taken Alexander’s ambitions. AJ had personally taken offense to this. He didn’t want to be anything like the man-whore he had as a dad.   
He had cheated on his mother, left for weeks at a time without warning. And yet Alexander still wondered why anyone besides James and Johnny had decided to move in with him. AJ couldn’t even bear the thought of looking at Alexander, much less moving in with him. AJ almost found himself despising the idea of Johnny or James living with him. He argued with Angie and Philip constantly over the idea of going to see them when they did.   
Since the divorce, AJ didn’t spend much time sleeping, or even eating. The only time he found himself eating would be at the diner, just so he wouldn’t worry his friends. The only time he slept would be when he passed out from exhaustion at his desk in his bedroom.   
AJ had submerged himself in his work, on debate strategy, homework, college applications. Yeah, he was only a Junior, but he wasn’t about to rely on his father, or put the stress on his mother, for college funds. Sure, the Schuyler’s had more than enough money, and ties to great colleges, but AJ tended to run independently. 

“AJ?” 

The familiar quiet voice caused the teen to look from his notebook, over to the door of the meeting room to see Susan Reynolds.  
Despite what their parents went through, AJ didn’t hold a grudge to Susan, even though people tended to think differently. She didn’t have control over what her parents did. It was Susan who seemed to have the grudge towards AJ. But he hadn’t done anything. 

AJ stood, shutting his notebook. “Hey-- what’s up?” He checked the time. It was his own free period, so he had come to here, as always. 

Susan stood somewhat awkwardly, tugging on the cuffs of her school blazer. AJ was about to ask how she got out of class before he’d seen the hall pass in her hand. “I-- was wondering if you wanted to sit with me at lunch?” Her voice was kind of quiet. “I-- I have a few strategies to discuss, for the club. I wanted to present them to you before to the others. If that’s okay--” Her cheeks heated with blush. She was shy, so asking this sort of thing was really hard for her. She had tried asking AJ out a few times now, even before their parents affair. But AJ either really wasn’t interested, or just an idiot. 

This time seemed to be different. AJ slowly blinked before offering a small, subtle smile. “Yeah, that sounds okay. With our new members, we’ll need as many ideas that we could get.” 

\--

“Hey, gorgeous~” 

Angie felt her cheeks heat up as she glanced behind her, smiling at the sight of Abigail, smiling slightly. She was in the middle of tugging on her winter coat over her uniform. Winter had come to greet the city early. It had snowed practically nonstop for over a week. They could barely make the short walk to the diner. Their feet couldn’t trudge through the snow. It had gotten to the point where they all kept a pair of snow boots into his locker. 

“Hi,” Angie smiled, pulling out her winter coat from her locker. She tugged it on and slipped off her flats, pulling out her winter boots, trading them. “Are you ready?” 

Abigail nodded, linking her arm with Angie’s reluctantly. The two hadn’t necessarily made their relationship public. Abigail hadn’t even mentioned anything to her friends, meanwhile Angie had openly talked to her friends and mom about it. They were all excited about it for her.   
But John Adams and Alexander would be a different story for sure. John was completely homophobic, Abigail hadn’t even come out to them yet. Alex didn’t take it well back in sophomore year when Angie was dating Lucy.

“So,” Angie tugged on her bottom lip as the two walked through the entrance of the school, walking down the road. “Winter formal is soon! And...I was kind of…”

“Whoa, Ang. Would that really be a great idea? My parents are kind of….not going to be supportive of that.”

Angie felt her heart plummet. Drop into her stomach. “R-Right…. We could say we’re going as friends!” She offered nervously. 

“I...really don’t think….that’s a good idea,” Abigail stopped walking, turning Angie to face her. “I like you….hell, I love you. But the idea of coming out gives me anxiety. I’d be kicked out of the house--”

“You could come live with me!” 

“Angelica…”

“But…” 

“No,” Abigail noticed the hurt look on Angie’s face and gulped. She reminded her so much of an overenthusiastic dog, or puppy. Always energetic and happy. When they gave you that….look, it broke your heart. 

Abigail sighed, snaking her arms around the other’s waist gently. She kissed her quickly with a smile. “I’ll work on it…” 

\--

“Where’s Frances?” Theo looked around. It was well past 12:20 pm, meaning that she should have been there at least ten minutes ago. She usually walked with Georges, but he had come alone, still grinning. Theo couldn’t help but give a small laugh. He had shot up her, Philip’s, and Anastasie’s phones about what had happened. 

“Where’s your date, tiger?” Philip called to him from the booth. Georges blinked and looked around, coming over and sitting beside Theo. 

“I dunno. She said she had a project. Or something.” 

“So you just...didn’t stay?”

“I guess not. She agreed to be my date to the formal, not agreed to sign the papers to make me her legal guardian--”

“That whole thing just sounds bad,” Theo spoke up. 

Georges frowned, going to the bar in front of the kitchen window to ask for his meal, passed to him in a to go box. The teen took it and went to sit with his friends. “I don’t see the big deal….”

“There is no deal. We’re all just confused. Usually she brings her work with her,” Anastasie lifted her hand, snatching a fry from her brothers plate. 

“Maybe she has something to-- wait. Is that Fran? With Lucy and them?” Theo pointed with her fork, out the window, immediately catching all of their attention to across the street. 

\--

“I didn’t know there were any other restaurants for another mile or so after Seabury’s,” Frances frowned, looking around. It was cold. God, she was freezing. It was a whole 10 degrees out. She wasn’t having this. 

Lucy had invited along the Lee twins, which Frances did not like. Wasn’t it great enough that she had agreed to have lunch with Lucy alone?

“We aren’t actually going to eat, dummy,” Lucy rolled her eyes. “We just had a small warning for you, with you hanging around….them.”

By ‘them’, Frances immediately assumed they were talking about her friends, who were in Seabury’s, just a block and a half down. Oh, how she wanted to go see would prefer to be there other than here. The way Lucy had referred to them made Frances mad. Pissed that she acted like she was something higher than them. They were a lot better than Lucy!

Frances glared at the other, trying to contain her anger. “The only ‘warning’--” She put quotation marks around the word. “Is to yourself, that if I ever hear you talking bad about them again, I’ll stick those pom-poms so far up your ass you’ll be pooping tinsel weeks,” the ginger found herself in the others face, she bit her lip and took a step back. As laid back as Frances was, she was extremely protective, much like her dad, apparently. 

Part of the girl was expecting Lucy to quiver back, or get mad. But she only laughed. What the hell? Frances clenched her fists, only stopping when the pain of her nails digging into her palms hit her. 

“Honey, I knew you were naive, but this is ridiculous,” Lucy smiled. “Those ‘friends’ of yours, aren’t as great as you think. You don’t know the history of their parents and what they’ve gotten into. We were lucky enough to be able to get to William when we did. Don’t be blindsided.”

Frances took another step back. “I’ll keep that in mind,” was all she said before turning and going back towards the diner. 

\--

“Frances! What the hell!” Theo, Anastasie, Philip, and Georges all seemed to say in unison. She got the hint that they must have seen her with Lucy and the twins. Still shivering, Frances grabbed a spare chair from an empty table, pulling it over to the end of the table and sitting. 

“Sorry-- they, uh…” Frances didn’t have an excuse for what they saw. In all honesty, she had seen it almost as a hostage position. Lucy kind of dragged her into it. Georges awkwardly climbed over Philip’s lap, who scooted to replace his seat. 

“What did they say to you?” He questioned, brows furrowed. Frances rubbed her arms, glancing at the time. She wondered if she could get a hot drink to go. She would like that. 

“They...nothing important. I didn’t listen to them. A lot of nonsense,” she shivered again. The view out the window at the snow starting back up wasn’t helping the cold. 

Georges grabbed his jacket, stuffed in the corner of the booth, passing it to her. Frances took it gratefully. She had grown kind of fond of the jacket, which seemed to be getting passed to her a lot. “Whatever they told you, it probably isn’t true, Doux--” He signaled the waitress, pointing at Frances, as if ordering for her silently. The diner had picked up on Frances’ usual drink orders quickly. Hot lemon tea with a lot of honey.   
“I know it isn’t,” Frances chewed her cheeks, glancing to Philip, then Theo and Anastasie. “I’m not going to listen to them. I promise…” She was embarrassed, she wished she had a better excuse to why she just didn’t find a way to get out of the meeting. She found herself making a sudden mental note to talk to her dad.


	6. Don't Sleep on the Subway

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wowowow   
> Okay, so, some stuff actually happens in this chapter.   
> Finals kick ass.  
> Hopefully, the next one will be the formal, then we can get to some Christmas stuff! : D

Finals week was kicking everyone’s asses. Especially Frances’. She had stayed up until five in the morning studying every night. She was becoming stressed. Wait. Becoming wasn’t the right word. At this point she felt like the human embodiment of the term.   
Since her and John had moved in with Alex, Frances had begun to take the subway from school. Alex’s apartment was further from the school, so, when school was let out about three and both men were at work, the girl had taken the opportunity to look around the city a bit. She had visited a couple of the local shops a block down from the street she was let out on. Usually Georges or one of her other friends accompanied her on her adventuring, but finals week were bringing them to the ground as well. 

“Frances? Hey-- wake up---”

The girl jolted awake, her forehead colliding with William’s. 

“Ow. Shit. Why are you on this street?” He rubbed his forehead, staring at Frances, who was extremely disoriented. 

“What street?” Frances squinted. She hadn’t realized she fell asleep. Pulling out her phone, she paled when she checked the time and noticed the missed calls from John. It was nearly six. “Crap…”

William carefully took her hands, pulling her to her feet. “Come on. I was just about to get off. Dad’s shop is a few blocks away. He’ll give you a ride.” He smiled. 

Frances stared at him before giving a small smile. “Thanks...that means a lot,” she considered telling him that she would just take the subway back to Alex’s apartment, but she had no idea how to get back. 

William wrapped an arm around her waist, keeping her close as they got off the train. “You’re pretty lucky my truck is in the shop. Without me, you’d probably sleep your way to New Jersey. You gotta be really careful there,” he joked, leading her up the steps. 

“Why?” Frances shivered as the cold air hit her, unconsciously stepping closer to Will. 

“Who knows what would happen to you there. Everything is legal in New Jersey.” 

“Really?” 

William snorted at how convinced she sounded. “Sure. We’ll go there and gamble, Laurens,” he turned her towards the left, towards the shop. He held her close to him as he looked around. “Do you like cocoa? There’s a little cafe ‘cross the street that we can hit first.” 

Frances glanced to him and nodded with a small smile. “I really should text Dad, though. He’s probably worried.” 

“Go ahead!” 

\--

“An artist, really?” William watched Frances as she sipped the cocoa. John had warned her to get home before eight, so they had a lot of time to kill. The two sat at a small table inside the cafe, William watching Frances’ face light up as she rambled. 

Frances wasn’t the typical passionate person. She didn’t jump up and down or anything. Kind of just, exaggerated with her hands, like she wasn’t sure what to do with them. William wondered about the fact that if she waved her hands any faster if she might take off in flight. But still, it was kind of cute on how she would smile brightly and tilt her head whenever her words trailed off. 

“Yeah….I know it’s not the steadiest career. But art has been a type of escape, I guess. It’s silly, though. I should look into something else. I’m sure my art isn’t even as great as my dad let’s on!” Frances gave a small laugh. 

Will slowly blinked before reaching across the small table and cupping Frances’ cheek. “I take art with you. Your art is pretty great--” Feeling Frances’ face heat up underneath his hand, he cleared his throat, sitting back down properly and sipping his hot cocoa, not paying attention as the whipped cream marked across his upper lip. William felt his own face heat up when Frances gave a small laugh at the sight. “So, uh--” He grabbed a napkin, wiping his mouth. “Christmas is coming up! Do you have any plans?” 

“Dad discussed going back to South Carolina for a week of the break...but I don’t think that’s going to be happening. We would have already needed the tickets, and, around this time of the year, it would be impossible to get them. So I’m sure we’ll find other plans. He wouldn’t want to leave Alex alone over Christmas anyways. Or at all,” Frances sighed. 

“Has he mentioned to you why he moved you so suddenly?” William was taken back when he asked the question so suddenly. 

Frances was taken back as well. She looked to Will and slowly blinked. “No. But then again I haven’t asked him. He’ll tell me if he wants. It’s not that big of a deal, I didn’t leave anything behind.”

William said nothing, only sipped his drink. 

“Sorry,” Frances said quietly. “I’ve been rambling for while. You’re probably annoyed as hell.” 

“Annoyed? By you?” William couldn’t help but laugh at the thought, but then realized that Frankie was dead serious, biting his lip. He came upon the realization that at one point or another she probably had been told that she was annoying. Thinking that made Will pissed. “I could never be annoyed by a literal ray of sunshine, Frankie--! Besides, your-- pretty adorable --blabbering, makes up for the awkward silence I have in return for not knowing what to say!” 

The girl’s cheeks reddened slightly as she gave a small smile, tugging on a couple of her curls, releasing them and watching them bounce. The other watched her in a shade of fascination. It was intriguing to watch her, it seemed like she would never do the same movement twice. William reached out, gently taking Frances’ hands, taking her mug from her and setting it towards the center of the table. This didn’t seem to stop her rambling. “That’s really sweet, William. But my endless rambling really becomes endless if someone doesn’t st--”

He reached across the table, cupping the back of Frances’ neck and pulling her close. William had to stand from his chair, leaning and kissing her carefully. Frances took a second to process what the hell was happening, the fact that she wasn’t rambling anymore, and that without her cup, she wasn’t sure what to do with her hands and went to tuck them behind her back awkwardly before suddenly coming to realization of what was happening and reaching up to push William away. 

“What-- what was that?!” She demanded, glancing to Will, who was now grinning like an idiot.

“I bet you’ve never been shut up like that before, aye, Laurens?”

Frances shook slightly, mostly in shock as she slowly scooted from her chair, her head going a hundred miles an hour. 

William blinked in realization that she wasn’t entertained. “Fran--” 

“I have some studying to do, so I’ll just take a cab or something,” she pulled her small roll of money from a hidden pocket in her backpack, pulling off a five and setting it on the table. “That should cover the drinks--” Frances spoke faster than before, Will could barely understand her. He hadn’t meant to upset her--

“Frances--” He reached out to take her hand, in hopes of stopping her long enough to apologize. 

The redhead flinched slightly at the sudden movement, sending him an almost...intrigued look. As if to say ‘you got my attention. What do you have to say to make this situation better?’ 

“I-- I’m sorry? I thought-- I thought you might enjoy that?” Will cocked his head to the side, obviously baffled on why she was so upset. 

Frances squinted as if to say ‘wow okay so you wasted five seconds of my time thanks’. “I’m not-- I’m not upset!” Her voice cracked. “It just-- took me off guard! It came out of nowhere!”

“Was I supposed to ask for permission? ‘Hey, Laurens, I don’t know how else to shut you up so can I kiss you?’ That kind of ruins the moment.” 

She hesitated. He had a point. But a relationship wasn’t what she wanted! Frances knew how those things ended. In one version or another of heartbreak. She didn’t want to go through that. That’s why she had agreed to go with Georges to the formal! As friends! He wanted to go as friends! ….right? 

“Hey, Laurens, I don’t know what else to do now that you aren’t talk--”

“Just-- shut up for a second. Let me think,” Frances’ toes tapped against the tile uncontrollably, she tried to stop herself from getting herself too worked over. “Did you like--- mean the kiss? Or was it just to shut me up?”

Will stared at her. 

“You can talk now--”

“I figured. I was just trying to figure out what to say,” Will squinted. “I mean, you’re cute,” he hesitated. Frances blushed slightly.   
“There’s more to me than being cute, William.” 

Will cringed as his phone buzzed in his pocket. He knew who it was, and what she was saying. He stood, walking over to Frances, cupping her cheek. 

“I know that. I also know you’re obviously a person with a lot of layers--”

“What--?” Frances went to take a step back. What the hell?

“Hush. You’re one of those people where you can know them for years, decades, and they’ll still surprise you. You’ll learn something new about them every day.”

“William, I don’t--”

“You intrigue me, Fran. You really do. I just want to learn more about you. Learn-- everything. Is that so bad?” William pulled her close, internally screaming at himself. Now that Frances was closer, he took notice to the shade of fear that she had. He felt guilty. “I want to know things like-- how many freckles you have. How you got that scar above your eye--” His thumb brushed over her eyebrow.

“Too many to count-- and I fell off a horse--” 

“What kind of horse?” 

“I-- not sure, actually. I was only eight. I ended up breaking my arm, too,” she lifted her arm to show the scar on her elbow. It was thick and purple, like it hadn’t healed correctly. “I haven’t gone near one since.” 

William glanced to the scar and raised a brow. “I’ve never been horseback riding. Is it fun?”

“Obviously not if I haven’t done it in nine years, Will--” A small smile played on Frances’ face. William grinned at her smile. Frances found herself blushing. “F-fine. Okay. We can play it this way. I’ll give you my number-- and we can talk. Each day, you get to ask one question, alright? Then I’ll ask one. Just to get to know each other better.” She smiled. 

The boy nodded in agreement. “Sounds perfect. Now, let’s get you home before your dad blows his top--” 

\--

“Frankie?” John called from the kitchen when he heard the front door open.   
His focus had been on outside, watching the snow fall quickly and heavily, just as it had been for over a week. He was pretty similar to Frances when it came to the cold, though, having actually seen a snow storm before, he had some sort of tolerance to it. He lost track of how many sweatshirts she had stolen of his, and how many he had stolen from Alex, just for simple, 75 degree fall days.

“Yeah?” Frances came through the doorframe, her cheeks bright red with cold from the short walk from the vehicle, up to the apartment. Her heavy backpack had her hunched over. God she had horrible posture. John was never sure where she got her lack of height from. It didn’t help that she was always slouching. He remembered something about complications when she was born, and that she had gotten sick when she was about four. John assumed that had something to do with it. Tag teaming with her bad immune system and shades of fear from her past, she was kind of a wreck. 

John turned from the stove to look to his daughter, seeming concerned at how tired she seemed. He remembered how stressful finals had been for him too. Laf had mentioned to him earlier about Georges breaking down because he had to miss an hour of school for a dentist appointment the day before. 

He walked over to her, taking the backpack and slumping forward from the weight, deciding on just...dropping it. John turned to Frances and offered a small smile. His daughter stood there somewhat awkwardly before hugging him tightly. John gave a shocked glance, before hugging her back. 

“Hasn’t anyone ever told you not to sleep on the subway?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I mentioned on the most recent update of Fidus Achates, I was diagnosed w/ carpal tunnel, so updates may begin to slow down.


End file.
